Somalian's Attempt to Build a New Life in Europe Wipes Out His Family's Savings, a Common Predicament

MOGADISHU, Somalia—Mustaf Hussein Abukar wanted a better life for his younger brother, in Europe. Instead, he got an encounter with a human-smuggling racket that nearly bankrupted his family, a common story in this East African nation and across the continent.

Two years ago, Mustaf Abukar sold his father's farm to help pay his brother's smugglers in the hope his sibling might prosper in Europe. But German security forces caught the...